Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Receives $78.69 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.69.

A number of research firms have recently commented on EQR. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Equity Residential from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $77.75 to $81.50 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America downgraded Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Equity Residential from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equity Residential

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Equity Residential by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 32,658 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after buying an additional 979 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Equity Residential by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 182,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,430,000 after purchasing an additional 8,088 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 104.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 17,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 129,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 14,109 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EQR opened at $67.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Equity Residential has a 1-year low of $57.33 and a 1-year high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.